subject: Is Private Gifting Legal in th United States according to the IRS? [print this page] Is Private Gifting Legal? Is Private Gifting Legal?
Private gifting is the most sincere form of gifting when it is done among friends. There are no penalties, no fines, no expectations, no laws, and no returns when you give someone a gift. I want to share with you a story that relates to this topic.
Last month my best friend in the whole world got married to a beautiful bride. They had a stunning wedding and everyone at the event had a spectacular time. Guess what I gave to my friend and his wife. CASH. I gave them cash as a wedding gift. With a huge smile on my face while I was giving them this gift from my family that we felt would bless them in their new life together. The greatest thing about getting married is everyone gives you CASH. Now let me ask you a very simple question. Was it illegal for anyone at that wedding to give the bride and groom cash as a personal gift? Was it illegal for the newlyweds to accept the cash from those people that wanted to give a gift to them? My friends and family, you and I all know the answer to that question. But for those that have a hard time figuring things out, the answer is a resounding NO!
Has anyone in you lifetime ever at any time given you a cash gift with nothing expected in return? Have you ever given cash to someone else, a friend, a relative, child, a brother or sister, co-workers, birthdays, holidays, and so on and so forth...
I am sure my friends that the answer to that is a resounding YES!!!
Does any of this activity constitute as illegal? NO!
Any individual person is legally able to give a gift of cash to any other individual person up to $13,000 per year.
This is totally legal and acceptable according to the law.
Gift Tax Annual Exclusion
Year(s) Annual Exclusion
1998 2001 . . . . . . . . $10,000
2002 2005 . . . . . . . . $11,000
2006 2008 . . . . . . . . $12,000
2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13,000
For 2009, you generally can give a gift valued at up to
$13,000 each, to any number of people, and none of the
gifts will be taxable.
If you are married, both you and your spouse can
separately give gifts valued at up to $13,000 to the same
person in 2009 without making a taxable gift. If one of you
gives more than the $13,000 exclusion to a person in
2009.
Is Private Gifting Legal in th United States according to the IRS?
